Sabarimala gold loss case: Kerala vigilance court rejects bail plea of former TDB prez

Kollam(Kerala), Dec 12 (PTI) A Kerala court on Friday rejected the bail plea of former TDB president A Padmakumar in a case involving loss of gold from the door frames of the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Ayyappa temple in Sabarimala.

The Kollam Vigilance Court denied the relief to Padmakumar, also a former CPI(M) MLA, after the prosecution opposed his bail plea on the ground that there was sufficient evidence on record to prove the offence against him, public prosecutor Siju Rajan said.

Advocate Rajan said that the former Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) president had sought bail on various grounds, including his advanced age and related health problems.

Padmakumar was earlier this month arrayed as an accused by the police in the case of missing gold from the Dwarapalaka (guardian deity) idols in Sabarimala.

Meanwhile, Unnikrishnan Potty, the prime accused in the cases related to loss of gold from the Dwarapalaka idols and the Sreekovil (sanctum sanctorum) door frames, has moved a plea seeking regular bail, the prosecutor said.

Potty has sought bail on the grounds that the statutory period of keeping him in custody without filing a chargesheet is over and that he was not aware that the plates handed to him for plating were of gold, Rajan said.

The prosecutor added that for offences under the IPC, 60 days is the maximum limit for holding a person in custody without filing a chargesheet.

He said the court took up the matter on Thursday and called for a report from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the cases.

The court has listed Potty's bail for further consideration on December 18, he added.

So far, the SIT has arrested six individuals in the two cases, including Potty and two former TDB presidents. PTI HMP SA